May 2010 Sonoma County Zinfandel Tasting

Sonoma County zins represent a benchmark in California Zinfandel with an attractive combination of quality and value.  Sonoma County is located immediately north of San Francisco and is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the east by Napa Valley.  It includes highly regarded American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) such as Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Los Carneros and Russian River Valley.  According to Zinfandel Advocates and Producers (ZAP), Sonoma County Zinfandel has been characterized as having full intense blackberry fruit aromas that mingle with spicy black pepper, anise and allspice scents.

In our first Zinfanatic tasting, we will review the following ten Zinfandels listed alphabetically carrying the Sonoma County designation:

1.  Kenwood Zinfandel Sonoma County (2006)

2.  Murphy Goode Zinfandel Liar’s Dice Sonoma County (2007)

3.  Rancho Zabaco Zinfandel Sonoma Heritage Vines Sonoma County (2007)

4.  Ravenswood Zinfandel Old Vine Sonoma County (2007)

5.  Rodney Strong Zinfandel Knotty Vines Sonoma County (2007)

6.  Rosenblum Zinfandel Sonoma County (2007)

7.  Seghesio Zinfandel Old Vine Sonoma County (2007)

8.  Seghesio Zinfandel Sonoma County (2008)

9.  St. Francis Zinfandel Old Vine Sonoma County (2007)

10.  Valley of the Moon Zinfandel Sonoma County (2007)

Stay tuned over the next several days or the results of our tastings.